


I Need More Than Your Photograph

by out_of_nowhere



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Boudoir photoshoot, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:27:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23500807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/out_of_nowhere/pseuds/out_of_nowhere
Summary: In high school Rhett was the popular jock and Link was invisible, his crush on Rhett going unnoticed. Now they're in college and something needs to be done to fix this.
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 20
Kudos: 83





	I Need More Than Your Photograph

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little meet cute I wrote last night and @criminalmind1927 beta'd for me. 
> 
> Title is the song by Def Leopard.

Link was shocked when he had seen Rhett across the quad the first week of college. Rhett had been the ultimate jock in high school. Varsity basketball his sophomore year, team captain his junior and senior years. Link, and everyone else, had thought that Rhett would end up going to a big name school on a sports scholarship, not to the local state university. 

Link had been both elated and dismayed by this development. Going off to college was supposed to be Link's way to meet new people. Meet new guys. And get over his crush on the deliciously tall, very straight athlete. Maybe he'd try again in four years. 

His best friend, Amber, told him that it was fate. That this was his opportunity to ask Rhett out. Or maybe, you know, at least talk to the guy.

Being the only openly gay kid in their small southern high school hadn't exactly made Link popular. As it was, he counted himself lucky that people mostly ignored him and he never got more than bruised knees from being tripped in the hallway. So he and Rhett hadn't exactly run in the same circles. 

Link didn't even really have a circle. He had Amber. His best, and arguably only, friend since eight grade, when they had kissed and Link knew for sure that he was very,  _ very _ gay. But that friendship had followed them into high school and now college, and now Link wasn't sure what he'd do without her. 

Anyway, all of that meant that Link hadn't ever spoken to Rhett. Hadn't wanted to tarnish Rhett's reputation with his existence. Or, even worse, be rejected of even friendship by the most alluring man Link had ever seen. Amber was convinced that Rhett was too nice a guy to do something like that, but Link didn't want a pity friend, either. 

So he just continued to watch his crush from afar. And now, lucky him, Link was going to have four more years of the same thing. 

◇◇◇◇

"Hey, Link." The door to his dorm room slammed shut and Amber flopped down on his god-awful floral couch that they had found on the street and hauled up to his room. For a small woman, Amber was surprisingly strong. 

"Hey," Link called over his shoulder from his desk, where he was studying for his economics class. 

"So, I need your help," Amber said, toeing off her shoes and stretching out her legs across the coffee table. 

"With what?" Link turned around and eyed her with suspicion. Usually if Amber needed him for something, she just ordered him to do it. Her  _ asking _ for help made him extremely wary.

"I've got this project I have to do for photography class," Amber explained. "I'm supposed to take something boring and overdone and give it a new spin."

"Okay." Link narrowed his eyes. "And what do you need me for?"

"I want to do a boudoir shoot, and I want you to be my model." Amber beamed at him like she had just told him the secret of the universe. 

"Me?" Link squeaked. "You want to take naked pictures of me?"

Amber rolled her eyes. "Not  _ naked _ . Just scantily clad. It's artful, Link."

"But why me? I'm-"

"My best friend," Amber interrupted him. "And pretty hot, honestly. If you weren't so shy, you'd notice all the looks you get. From guys and girls alike, even if you only care about the one."

Link didn't agree on her assessment of his "hotness," but he wasn't ashamed of his body and reluctantly agreed to help her, doubtful he'd be able to pull off the confidence she'd most likely want for her photos, but she chose him and that would be her problem to deal with. 

◇◇◇◇

It was just Rhett and one other photography student in the development room today. Amy, Amanda… Amber! That was her name! Rhett was pretty sure they had gone to high school together. That she had been on the newspaper team. He was surprised to see her taking an introduction to photography class, but he didn't really know how electives like that transferred to college, so maybe she had to. 

Regardless, she was quiet and easy enough to work around as they developed their prints for their project due next week. At first Rhett was in his own little world, going through the motions of developing, washing, and hanging his prints. Then he spotted one of Amber's out of the corner of his eye. 

It was the backside of someone in a red thong, one hand on their hip, and the other hand with a finger trailing up their thigh. At first glance, you might mistake the model for a topless woman, since the photo cut off at the shoulders and was taken from behind, but if you studied the shoulders it was easy to determine that the definition and broadness present definitely didn't belong to a female. 

The photo next to it, a bare chested man-again no face visible-in very small, very tight, black briefs, back arching up off what was presumably a bed and knees slightly bent off to the side, confirmed Rhett's theory that her model was male.

He let his gaze wander over the other pieces. In one of them, the guy was in a sheer robe gazing out the window. In another, it was only from his thighs down, but he was pulling off the thong from the other photo, sliding them down over shaved legs, and toward the pair of high heels he was in. Rhett had never considered a man in woman's clothing, but judging by the response his dick was having, he might just be on board. 

The picture that Rhett couldn't pull his eyes away from, though, showed the man crouched on the floor wearing massive angel wings, similar to what you might see a Victoria's Secret model wear. In this one you could see the guy's face and if Rhett thought he had been taken by the guy's body, it was nothing compared to his face. 

The guy had dark hair, a strong jaw, and even though the picture was taken at a slight distance, Rhett felt like those eyes were piercing into his soul. Seeing the entire package, so to speak, that the man had to offer wasn't helping the situation in Rhett's pants. 

"He's my best friend," a sweet feminine voice said, breaking into his thoughts. 

"Yeah?" he asked, trying to act nonchalant and not just start begging for the guy's number. 

"Yep," she confirmed. 

"Not your boyfriend?" Rhett's eyes flicked to hers, but he couldn't hold her gaze, in case she said he was and saw the disappointment on his face. 

He startled when she burst out laughing. "Just best friend. I don't exactly have the right equipment to interest him."

Rhett's heart was pounding. This absolute god of a man was gay. "Oh."

"Oh?" Her voice held a hint of amusement. "Why? Like what you see?"

His eyes flicked to hers again and he noticed her smirk. "I mean, he's an attractive guy. Anyone would notice that."

"Anyone, huh?" Rhett could practically still hear her smirking. "That's what I've tried to tell him. Believe it or not, he thinks he's pretty ordinary."

Rhett's eyes flew to hers in shock. "No way."  _ This guy could be a model, _ Rhett thought to himself. 

"Yep. He's so shy, he had this huge crush all through high school. Couldn't even say hi to the guy." Rhett was starting to think that smirk was a permanent fixture of her face.

"The other guy's loss, I'm sure." He wasn't sure why Amber was telling him this, but he was a little glad he hadn't been able to tell his crush. Maybe he had a chance with the hot guy?

"I don't know. He seemed like a nice guy. Basketball player. But Link," she paused and pointed to the guy in the pictures, "and I were pretty sure he was straight."

Suddenly, things started to fall in place for Rhett. "Wait, didn't you and I go to school together?"

Amber nodded and grinned. 

"Did...Link go to school with us?" Surely he'd have remembered such a hot guy at his high school. No, he hadn't been out yet, but he wasn't blind. 

Amber nodded again.

"I-I was a basketball player," he continued. 

Amber's grin grew until she was practically beaming. 

"No! Me?" Rhett was in shock. How had he missed this guy before? 

Amber nodded once more. "But you're straight, so…"

"No, I'm not!" Rhett blurted out. "I mean, that is… I'm bi."

"Oh?" Amber raised her eyebrows. 

This time Rhett nodded. "If… If I gave you my number, would you pass it along to him?"

Amber just grinned and held out her hand. 

◇◇◇◇

"What?!" Link couldn't believe this. "How did  _ Rhett _ see the pictures you took of me?"

Amber shrugged. "He's in my class."

"WHAT?! In your class? You  _ knew _ he'd see them?!" Link collapsed on the couch. "How could you do this to me?"

Amber rolled her eyes. "You looked great in those pictures, if I do say so myself. Besides, he liked them." She started digging in one of her pockets. "He liked them so much, he gave me your number to give to you."

Amber's eyes were dancing when Link grabbed the slip of paper out of her hand. 

_ Rhett  _

_ 555-2659 _

"But he's straight," Link objected, staring at the paper. 

"Is he?" Amber asked, raising an eyebrow at Link. "Call him," Amber said, standing up and winking at him as she walked out the door. 

◇◇◇◇

It had been a week and Link had yet to call Rhett. Amber had to have been wrong. Link didn't like him. Otherwise he surely would have called. Rhett resigned himself to never getting a date with the hottest guy he had ever seen. 

A couple more days later Rhett was walking back from class and noticed Link leaving the library. Before his brain caught on to what his mouth was doing, he heard himself calling out, "Link! Wait up!"

Link stopped and turned toward him, his face turning red when he saw who had called him, his gaze immediately dropping to his feet. He was even more adorable in person, if that was even possible. 

"Hey," Rhett said when he got closer. He wanted to kick himself.  _ Way to be smooth, Rhett. _

"Hey." Link continued to stare at the ground.

"So, uh… I saw the pictures your friend took of you." Rhett wanted to disappear. He was so good at talking to girls. What was wrong with him? Oh, yeah. Link was the hottest person he had ever been around.  _ That's _ what was wrong with him. 

Link made some kind of noncommittal noise and kicked a loose rock on the sidewalk. 

"They, uh, were really good." He wanted to die. Link had his number, had obviously not wanted to call him, and now he was forcing him to talk to him. 

"Yeah, Amber is a good photographer." Still no eye contact. 

"I don't know. I think her model really made the shots," Rhett said, giving it one more try.

"Really?" Link cautiously looked up at him and Rhett wanted to do a happy dance. Those eyes focused on him was making his insides turn to absolute mush.

"Really." Rhett took a small step closer to Link. "Did, uh, Amber give you my number?"

Link's ears turned red and he looked away. "Yeah."

Rhett frowned. Obviously he had read this wrong. Amber was mistaken and it was a different player that Link had been crushing on. "Okay, well… Sorry to bother you. I guess I'll see you around."

Link frowned as he started to walk away. He got about ten steps down the sidewalk when Link called after him. "Rhett! Wait!"

Rhett stopped and turned back. Link's eyes were fixed on his and he wanted to melt into a puddle again. 

"Did you really want me to call you?" Link looked so nervous and he just wanted to walk back to him and wrap him up in his arms. 

"I  _ still _ want you to call me." Rhett smiled at Link, hoping to reassure him. "But if it's easier, we could just go to dinner now? If...if you wanted?"

Link smiled at him and Rhett was going to have to figure out how to keep that smile on his face. "Yeah. I'd, I'd really like that."

Rhett beamed. He might have somehow failed to notice Link in high school, but he was on Rhett's radar now and this time he wasn't going to miss his shot. 


End file.
